SAN ANTONIO - Oklahoma Christian won a back-and-forth Lone Star Conference match at St. Mary's, 3-1 (25-17, 26-24, 20-25, 30-28), Saturday afternoon at Bill Greehey Arena.
The Eagles improved to 15-10 overall and 8-5 in league play, bouncing back a night after a loss at St. Edward's. The Rattlers fell to 11-12 and 4-9.
Chloe Jones led OC with 18 kills on a .364 clip and added 14 digs for a double-double. Kenzy McArtor chipped in 13 kills, and Molly Brunell hit .400 with 9 kills. Summer Van Meerveld posted 26 assists and 12 digs, and Macey Nehring anchored the back row with 21 digs. Leah Duncan served three aces and finished with six blocks (two solo, four assists). As a team, OC hit .247 to St. Mary's .185, out-dug the Rattlers 80-63 and won the block battle 7.0 to 5.0.
OC took control early in the first set, holding St. Mary's to a .000 hitting percentage (8 kills, 8 errors) in a 25-17 win. The second set went the other way for a while, with the Rattlers up by as many as eight points at 16-8 and still leading 17-10. The Eagles chipped away, and Jones had 8 kills in the set. McArtor delivered the final two kills of the 26-24 win. St. Mary's hit .435 in the third set, and Haleigh Wilk served four aces to force a fourth.
The fourth set was the decider. OC trailed 24-17 and scored seven straight points to tie it at 24, with three straight blocks fueling the run. The teams traded points until 28-28, when Duncan served an ace and Susanna Hodson put down the match-clinching kill.
The Eagles return home next week for a pair of league matches. They host DBU on Friday, Oct. 30, at 6 p.m. and Texas Woman's on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 2 p.m., both at Payne Athletic Center.
LSC Playoff Picture (Unofficial)
Nine teams qualify for the Lone Star Conference Tournament, set for Nov. 11-14 and hosted by the No. 1 seed. The tournament champion earns the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Championship.
With the win, OC (8-5 LSC) sits inside the nine-team field, a game ahead of West Texas A&M (7-6) for the last spot. Based on Saturday's final results, the field currently looks like this:
- Angelo State 13-0
- DBU 12-2
- UT Tyler 10-3
- Texas A&M-Kingsville 9-4
- St. Edward's 9-4
- UT Dallas 9-4
- Oklahoma Christian 8-5
- Midwestern State 9-6
- West Texas A&M 7-6
Western New Mexico and Lubbock Christian are just outside the field at 7-7.
OC's remaining matches:
- Oct. 30 vs. DBU (12-2)
- Oct. 31 vs. Texas Woman's (5-8)
- Nov. 6 at Eastern New Mexico (3-10)
- Nov. 7 at West Texas A&M (7-6)
The first tiebreaker is head-to-head match record. OC swept both Lubbock Christian and Western New Mexico earlier this season but has not yet played West Texas A&M, so the regular-season finale in Canyon could decide a spot in the field.
